


Slowly

by just_trying



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, And then meliorn shows up, Bisexual Jace Wayland, Bottom Jace Wayland, Everyone Is Gay, Jace is getting over heartbreak, M/M, Sealie, Smut, There's a pond that makes all their issue simpler, Top Meliorn, almost, fae, or something, shadowhunter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2020-10-16 22:03:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20610050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_trying/pseuds/just_trying
Summary: Magnus, Alec, Raphael, Simon, and Jace have to spend 24hrs in the Sealie Realm to get the Queen's help. Jace gets fed up with seeing his friends in love while he mourns the loss of Clary (who's lost all memory) and stumbles upon a lake that untangles all his thoughts. When Meliorn shows up, Jace doesn't know why he can't stop watching the Sealie, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that Meliorn is beautiful.-Jace felt Meliorn communicating more and more through his kisses, grinding down slightly. With a wave of panic, he pulled back and took a small breath.The Sealie made sure to look him straight in the eyes. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to...Jace.”He took a moment, staring down at the ground just below the water, before meeting Meliorn’s eyes with just as much pressure. “I want this.”-Saphael and Malec will be in this but not for now (first smut-fic)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! First Jeliorn fic! I know this isn't canon, but I couldn't get them out of my head and this is the only way. Also the Sealie Queen is a bit nicer than usual. Lemme know how ya liked it! :)

Time worked differently in the Sealie Realm. Minutes felt like seconds and hours felt like seconds. Every Shadowhunter knew the tale of the mistaken day in the Land of the Fae that ended in madness, but they were careful. They made sure to close every loophole possible. Magic, mechanics, weapons, everything was fair. If anything, it was going to be boring. It was risky, but necessary. They needed the Sealie Queen’s help.

Her requests were oddly straightforward. She’d asked for “five with loves to be remembered,” an easy decision. Alec and Magnus were the obvious pair. Simon and Raphael also held their own sort of partnership. Raphael made sure everyone and everything in sight knew Simon was his and no one else’s, an atmospheric sort of love. When Jace volunteered to go, no one stopped him. After everything with Clary, he was left broken and restless, but he still held onto her.

Each of them had a watch enchanted to tick in unison with the watches on the surface. They’d made sure even the Sealie Queen at least had one. There was no way to mess it up this time. 

When she’d requested their trade, the mischievous glint in her eye had been more unsettling than usual. Her smile would’ve made Jace squirm if he hadn’t been raised by Valentine. 

She’d been  _ so _ generous in offering them a room, but they were smarter than that. Food, shelter, water, blood, they planned everything. The first few hours were fine but boring. At some point, Jace was tired of being anxious and alone with his thoughts (not to mention the fifth wheeling).

“I’m going to go for a walk,” he announced.

“Alone I assume. Won’t get lost?” Alec asked worriedly.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Jace huffed in response.

His parabatai raised an eyebrow. “Recognize this part of the Realm from your  _ book club _ ?”

“Leave him alone Alexander, he’ll be fine,” Magnus said, emerging from a tent.

Jace nodded at the warlock. “I always knew Magnus was my favorite.”

“Darling, I’m everyone’s favorite.” he responded with a wink.

Raphael, who was sitting with Simon’s head in his lap, grumbled. “Sure.”

“Be nice to Magnus, Raph,” Simon chastised gently. He turned to smile at Jace. “Go ahead Jace. Just be careful.”

As much as Jace loved seeing his friends in love and loving being in love, it never ceased to remind him that he’d lost Clary. The fact that he saw her everyday but she had no recollection of him didn’t make anything better. He’d tried his hardest to ignore it all and focus just on Jonathan and Valentine, but the more he shut everything out, the more complicated his brain became. Like a ball of yarn that only became more tangled when he tried to pull something loose, nothing seemed to make anymore sense or become any simpler.

Walking through the Sealie Realm was surprisingly beautiful. He’d never taken the time to absorb the wonder of the place. Picturesque trees and perfectly placed bushes. The plants seemed a little more green and the birds sounded a little more melodic. He didn’t pay attention to where he was going. Even if he tried, he wouldn’t have been able to find his way anyway. Sometime later, he stumbled on a pool of water, just as idyllic as the rest of the realm, surrounded by green trees like a secret in a storybook.

For some strange reason, he was drawn to the calm-looking pool. He could see the gentle steam rising from it, most likely a hot spring. In his head, Jace could head Alec telling him to stay away. Anything in the realm could be dangerous. Water, fruit, anything. But still, there was something calming about the open water. As much as his mind was a mess, the water was very simple. A comforting lake of warm water and all the time in the world. 

Jace let himself drift toward the water, shedding clothes in the process. The moment he breached the water’s surface, the knot in his head relaxed. As much as everything was complicated, it was all incredibly simple. The gentle warmth made him feel weightless. There was no changing what was past and it hurt. The love of his life, Clary, was essentially gone from him. No recollection of the two of them at all. His father a monster. Clary being that monster’s daughter. The water seemed to make everything a short summary. 

If he closed his eyes, he could imagine everything that had happened in perfect pictures. He could see the moment Clary lost her memory. He could see the moment Alec finally let himself fall into Magnus. He could see every time one of his fellow soldiers fell to the floor screaming for one another. He could see every great success and disastrous failure. The calm of the water was almost disarming. He almost didn’t hear the footsteps trotting toward him.

“Brooding all alone, Shadowhunter?”

Jace’s head snapped to find the owner of the voice. Meliorn. “I’m a Shadowhunter. We don’t brood.”

The Sealie scoffed. “You must not be familiar with Shadowhunters then.”

“I was just…bored.”

“You’re here for the Queen’s help, yes?” He tilted his head, the light seeming to bend perfectly, accentuating their best features.

“Yes, I am.” Jace found it hard to speak, caught by surprise while in a pool of mental bliss. Though, he did notice that Meliorn, a figure he hadn’t before payed much attention to, was the living embodiment of the Fae. Like any Fae, he seemed so one with the mature around that he was almost part of the landscape. But, there still was something so distinctively Fae about Meliorn. Jace would never admit it, but even for a nine, he still had a mesmerizing beauty to him. Something gentle but rough in the way nature often was. Peaceful and yet so full of mysteries. Meliorn was elegant. In all the ways Shadowhunters trained to fall with grace and walk silently, Meliorn always seemed to have it all within him. Nature always seemed to bend for him. Roots never tripped him, the grass always muted his strides, rain never clouded his eyes. Everything about him was so natural and the epitome of Fae.

“Would you mind if I joined you?” Meliorn asked.

Jace found himself shaking his head.

Meliorn moved to undo the heavy-looking armour, a slow process. As the only thing moving, he easily caught Jace’s attention, among other things. Every piece of armour Meliorn removed, the more Jace tried to slip lower into the water despite the fact that the water was crystal clear. His eyes followed the Faerie as he walked to the pool. As he walked, Jace found himself drawn to a tattoo-like tree snaking up Meliorn’s leg. It glinted in the light and boasted its subtly green/gold leaves. He silently slipped into the water.

“The water is wonderful here, is it not?” Meliorn sighed, his head resting on the grass.

“Mhm,” Jace mumbled shyly.

The Faerie looked toward the Shadowhunter, who was sinking lower and lower in an attempt to hide himself. “There’s no need to hide yourself, Jonathan Herondale.”

His full name struck a chord. “Jace! It’s...Jace.” This was the exact wrong time to be reminded, just as his mind had reached some sort of equilibrium

“Do you know where you are, Shadowhunter?” 

“The Sealie Realm.”

“Yes. But this pond. This lake,” he started. “This is commonly known among us Fae as the Concordium. You were drawn to this place. The waters are calming, simplifying. I come here once a year, whatever you define as a year. The waters here untangle all the thoughts we think. Problems are no longer as convoluted. They are simply problems with numbers of obstacles.”

Jace couldn’t help but just watch Meliorn talk. “I can feel it.”

“This place un-complicates everything. It reveals the things we worry about most,” Meliorn said, eyeing Jace. “The things we desire the most, dear Shadowhunter.”

They locked eyes. Meliorn drifted just a bit closer to Jace. Neither of them breathing much. Jace would’ve normally fled, a joke tossed over his shoulder, but stripped of his usual hindrances, he just kept still, mesmerized. Meliorn gently took Jace’s face in his two hands, resting just as lightly as he could, and closed the small space in between them.

Almost every kiss Jace could remember was full of fire and lust, but Meliorn was thoughtful and slow. He naturally lifted his hands to hold his bare torso with just as much care as he held him. Meliorn took time to feel every moment and every move he each made. 

Jace felt Meliorn communicating more and more through his kisses, grinding down slightly. With a wave of panic, he pulled back and took a small breath.

The Sealie made sure to look him straight in the eyes. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to...Jace.”

He took a moment, staring down at the ground just below the water, before meeting Meliorn’s eyes with just as much pressure. “I want this.”

Meliorn surged forward and kissed Jace once more with care but still the passion and desire he’d mentioned. He roamed across Jace’s chest, runes and all. He rolled Jace’s nipple between his fingers, earning a small gasp. Meliorn smiled, slipping his tongue in.

Usually, Jace would be the one taking action, but Meliorn was picking him apart. He could feel the Sealie everywhere, it was intoxicating. Meliorn ground down on Jace, causing him to try to buck his hips upward. He pressed a hand on his pelvis. 

Meliorn took his time. He knew how Jace was feeling, but he wanted Jace to  _ really  _ feel it. He himself was already hard and wanting more, but he wanted to slow time. The Sealie kissed down Jace’s jaw and up and down his neck. With nothing hold him back, he heard Jace’s ragged breath and small whimpers.

His hand slowly made its way down lower until it just barely grazed, Jace’s cock. He whined in response. Meliorn ghosted his hand just around the base of Jace’s cock, massaging his thighs instead, until he could feel Jace shaking. He finally took Jace in his hand, earning a sigh of relief. Meliorn eased his hand up and down, working Jace into more of a mess than he already was. 

Jace had never felt anything quite like this. Usually, sex was casual, fun, maybe intense. Even when he met Clary, it had never felt like...Meliorn. Meliorn was sensual, thoughtful. It may have been the water, but he could hardly think straight beyond where Meliorn was touching and kissing him. Hell, the kiss was enough to get him hard. He wasn’t even thinking about how this was his first with someone not female. As contradictory as it was, Meliorn felt grounded. Like a tree. A tree making him see stars. Jace was so blissed out, he didn’t really quite know what his own hands were really doing. All he knew was that they were on Meliorn, and that was enough for him.

Meliorn twisted his hand in just the right way to elicit a gentle moan from Jace. It was rewarding. He’d be lying, something he was unable to do, if he even tried to say he hadn’t wanted Jace for at least some time. he teased his thumb on Jace’s slit. 

“How are you feeling, Jace?” he asked, whispering into Jace's ear.

“Fantastic,” he breathed. Meliorn pulled his hand a bit faster, feeling Jace’s hands spread across his back and neck. “Agh God! Meliorn, please.”

The Sealie’s name was heavenly on the blond’s lips. “What do you want?”

“I d-don’t know. I’ve never d-done this before,” he muttered. Truthfully, Meliorn was feeling just as needy.

He kissed just under Jace’s ear. “You can trust me, Jace.”

Meliorn took his hand from Jace’s hard, leaking cock, to which Jace protested, but instead slid to his hole. Knowing this was a first, he went slow. He circled around before dipping a finger in. It was barely anything but Jace hissed. 

“Jace?” Meliorn asked.

“Just new.”

Reassured, Meliorn continued working a finger. Jace was tight, that was for sure. Eventually, his finger was completely in and he could feel Jace staring to try to fuck himself on it. 

“How are you feeling now, angel?”

Jace’s eyes were closed in pleasure. “So good,” he panted out. His back suddenly arched and he shouted, “Fuck Meliorn! Do that again please!”

Meliorn smiled and worked a second in, trying to hit the same bundle of nerves. He knew it was painful at first and gently pumped Jace’s cock to take his mind off of it. It didn’t take long until Jace was simply writhing. 

Jace could barely keep himself from cumming right there. This was new, but so heavenly. He could feel Meliorn’s fingers working deep inside him, hitting something that was making him see white. Jace himself snaked a hand down to relieve some of Meliorn’s arousal.

“Meliorn please,” he pleaded once the pleasure was getting too intense for just fingers.

“What do you want?” Meliorn asked, feeding off of the tension.

Jace took a breath before saying, “Fuck me.”

Meliorn kissed Jace as he slowly eased his hard cock into Jace’s quivering hole, swallowing his moans. Once he was fully seated, Meliorn thrust slowly but hard. Jace’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He rolled his hips, aiming for Jace’s prostate as much as his own release. The lake’s water washed away the beads of sweat rolling down his foreheads. Jace’s moans were getting almost too loud to muffle. 

The Sealie resorted to kissing all around Jace’s shoulders and neck, hearing Jace’s noises only encouraged him. The Shadowunter reached around, one hand curling into Meliorn’s hair. It wasn’t as hot and heavy as sex usually was, it was connecting and patient.

“Meliorn-fuck. God I’m close.”

In response, the Sealie sucked and nipped at Jace’s neck, being sure to leave a mark, and licked over the spot. “Me too, angel,” he whispered.

Jace’s hand raked up and down Meliorn’s back. He didn’t even bother stifling his moans, whimpering at every thrust. He started moving himself, wanting to feel Meliorn even more. 

“Ah! Angel, if you do that you’ll make me come,” Meliorn said lowly.

Jace took a look at the Fae’s blissed face, proud of himself, and whispered, “Go ahead. I want to feel you inside me.”

Meliorn groaned once and snapped his hips up, thrusting harder and harder until he found his release.

“Meliorn!” Jace shouted, coming in ropes that swirled around them in the warm water. He could feel Meliorn’s hot cum in him as his hole clenched around nothing. They held each other in a slow kiss, still bound. Breathing hard and resting their heads against one another, Jace closed his eyes and breathed in Meliorn. The Fae, the Sealie. He was a Shadowhunter. But they were here. The water made that and only that clear.

Meliorn couldn’t help but steal one more treasured kiss from his lover. “Jace,” he began, looking at him through half-closed lids, “would you like to return to mine?”

A bed, with Meliorn. There was nothing greater in the world. “Yes.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they get back to their realm, those 24 hours in Sealie land confuse Jace. But there’s not much time to think. The meetings begin soon and Meliorn’s coming with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Chapter 2 here! If anyone has any suggestions for who to pair Izzy with, that would be great. So far it’s Raph/Simon, Magus/Alec, and of course Jace/Meliorn. Comment suggestions please and enjoy!

The moment their watches hit the full 24 hours, they were ready and assembled at the same place they’d arrived at. It was a simple affair. Just the five, the Seelie Queen, and her guards, Meliorn among them. 

“My dears, I’m afraid our time has expired,” she announced smoothly. “You’ve outdone your ancestors, Shadowhunters. Though I must say it shouldn’t have been hard given the amount of confidence you have in yourselves. Of course, a leader must also show some kindness and leniency, yes?” She smiled cockily.

Jace could tell that Magnus’ hand in Alec’s was the only thing keeping him from saying something. 

“We’ve earned your help here, correct?” Raphael asked, always focused on business as always. 

“I will be candid, vampire. The Fae will assist you with your endeavours, but once your efforts claim too many or become,” she eyed her five visitors,” unhelpful, I will be certain to inform you.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Simon acknowledged. 

The Queen smiled, “Daylighter. My you’ve grown.”

He tilted his head, a bit like a puppy. “Have I?”

She laughed. “Always my favorite, Daylighter. And paired with the most powerful clan leader in your realm. I confess I was a bit surprised.”

Raphael, who was well versed with the frustrations of the Seelie Queen, grinned watching Simon shuffle around nervously. “Thank you very much, Your Highness.”

She moved her analysis onward. Her next stop was Magnus and Alec. “Ah, the famous pair. Magnus, we have your differences, but I am happy you’ve found a love, dear. Especially after Camille.”

Jace found it was uncanny that the Queen was being so nice. When she shifted her attention to him, he felt the full uncomfortableness settle on him. 

“Jonathan Herondale. Or is it Lightwood or Wayland?” Nevermind, she wasn’t being nice. “Well, you and your Clarissa. What a tragic story. I wonder if you have any other loves. If they are Fae, you’d have the whole set in your little group. A warlock, a vampire, a werewolf, and now a Seelie.”

Jace and Meliorn’s eyes met for an instant and they quickly looked back to the floor. 

“Well, you must now return I suppose. Meliorn, my dear, could you open a portal for our travelers?”

Meliorn muttered a quick “Yes Your Highness.” They closed their eyes, lost in the magic for a moment and unaware that Jace was watching intently.

Magnus’ magic always reminded Jace of fire, of exactly how powerful he was. It rang out, pulling on you just slightly. But Meliorn was like water. It seemed to draw from the Seelie Realm. A green petal opened, all swirls and ominous light.

“We look forward to seeing you at our table,” Alec stated, ready to leave. “Watches please?”

The Queen unclasped her watch and dropped it into Magnus’ awaiting hand. Seeing their leader remove her mundane device, all her guards, who’d been given one as well, move to return theirs. Except Meliorn, who instead removed a small chain and gave it to Magnus, who barely even noticed.

“Ah yes, I will send Meliorn and Kaelie as a representation of the Land of the Fae.”

Jace felt his muscles tense, Kaelie and Meliorn.

They stepped into the portal one by one. Jace was the last to go. Before he returned to his realm, he looked back. “Queen, why did you ask for us?” he asked. 

Her smile glowed brightly. “Simply a matter of entertainment. After all, five is not enough for three whole pairs.”

As he stepped into the portal, he caught Meliorn fiddling with his watch and watching a pair of birds fly overhead.

-

It’d been days since they returned back to the Institute. Everything had gone perfectly. No one had gotten hurt minus a little cut that Simon got from walking back to the Hotel. There was hardly any time to relax though. The first meeting was set to begin in a day. Everyone was busy. Simon and Raphael were leading the clan and doing whatever that entailed on top of preparing for the meetings. Magnus, being the High Warlock, was running around everywhere meeting and preparing. Alec was running the Institute, Izzy was Weapons Master and had more than enough to do, Maia was the Alpha, Jordan was planning for the meeting with the Praetor. Everyone was busy. Jace was left as the lowest rank and alone, reminded that Clary was around but had no memory of him. 

With everything going on, it felt wrong to just kill demons as he normally would. And on top of everything, Jace didn’t know how to deal with Meliorn. He was so confused that he was almost calm. The restless part of him was freaking out over everything that happened. It was also pushing him to go do something, despite the fact that everyone was busy. 

The moment he walked into Izzy’s office, Jace regretted bothering her. Stacks of paper were everywhere. She was mulling over some report with a handful of highlighters. 

“Hey Izzy.”

“Hi Jace. What’s up?” Izzy scribbled some notes in the margin. 

Jace leaned nervously against the doorframe. “Um...I wanted to talk about something. Ask your advice.”

She pushed back from her desk and leaned back. “Yeah go ahead.”

“I had a question about...sex.”

“Really? A question about sex from Jace. Huh, off brand today?”

Usually, Jace would have quipped something back, anxious to not really ask what he wanted to, but the restless and at the same time calm part of him wash making him do anything he could to find something definite. “While we were in the Seelie Real-”

“I swear to God if the Queen did some sneaky bullshit,” Izzy said, immediately on edge at the mere mention of the Realm.

Jace waved the thought away. “No everything was fine. But, I had sex in the Realm,” he forced out of his mouth as quickly as possible. 

“And? Kaelie I’m assuming?”

“No,” he took a breath, “Meliorn.”

Izzy’s eyebrows jumped up. “Ok wow. Really going for all of the Seelie guards huh Jace?” she joked. “Well to my knowledge, Meliorn is male so Simon might be a better person for advice than me.” She motioned across the room to an armchair that seemed to be empty. 

Simon’s head suddenly popped up from behind the blue chair, one earbud dangling on the cord. “Yeah what’s up I heard my name!” his head snapped around. “Oh hey Jace.”

“Jace fucked Meliorn while you guys were in the Seelie Realm that one time. He wants some advice,” she quickly summarized. 

Jace wanted to melt into the wall. Simon just  _ had _ to be there to witness this. 

Simon hopped onto the arm of the chair, a stack of papers in hand. “So that’s where you were for hours! Meliorn came by to tell us that he was going to show you around some of their weapons stuff, you being you and all,” he capped the pen he was holding. “Wait wait wait. You and Meliorn?”

“See that’s what I’m here to talk about,” Jace leaned on the wall, not wanting to support more than his thoughts, which weighed enough on their own. “First of all, I didn’t fuck him.”

Simon and Izzy made eye contact and had a whole frantic conversation in an instant. Jace chose to ignore them and continued. 

“Also, I don’t know if it was fucking.” He picked at his fingernails behind his back. 

“So you guys made love?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Even hearing it sounded foreign. It was always fucking, right?

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. 

Simon thought for a moment and spoke, “Well generally what happened? To make you think this.” 

Izzy smiled mischievously. “Ooh yes Jace. Tell us  _ everything _ .”

Jace couldn’t help but break a smile. “I’m sure you’d love to Izzy. Well, you guys know the Concordium?”

Izzy stared at him for a moment before half-shouting, “What the fuck Jace you found the Concordium? No Shadowunter has ever found the Concordium!” 

“Um...what’s the Concordium guys?” Simon asked, just a clueless as he always was. 

She turned to him in disbelief. “Raphael’s gotten soft. The Concordium is like Holy water for the Fae. It’s this lake somewhere in the Realm. The water is said to be relaxing, makes everything ok, and for some,” she eyed Jace. “makes you realize some things. We’re going to ignore the fact that the Concordium is pretty much myth and we’ve never seen it ever.”

“Ok so what happened, Jace?” Simon asked after repeatedly apologizing to Izzy for being clueless.

“Well, I was in the lake and Meliorn found me. He got in,” Jace tried his hardest to not turn red. “ _ Stuff _ happened. He asked me if I wanted to go back to his room. I’m sure you’re familiar with it.”

“It’s a nice room right?” she joked lightly. Simon’s head was turning like he was watching a tennis match. 

“It is. Then we kind of just cuddled. And they were really gentle and slow the whole time.”

“Melion was never that slow as you say,” Izzy said. “That’s something new.”

Simon sat up. “How was it for you?” he asked Jace, ignoring Izzy’s comment as much as possible. 

“It was nice. Ever since,” Jace took a breath “Clary, nothing “romantic” has happened.”

Simon and Izzy shared a solemn look. “Do you like him?” Simon continued.

It took a moment for Jace to respond, still as numb a he had been. “I don’t even know. Then there’s the problem of being straight and I don’t kn-”

Simon cut him off. “Hey. Jace. Try not to think about that right now. Because there’s Meliorn. And you may or may not like him. And for now, that’s what matters.”

Jace slumped down into the armchair opposite to Simon. “I don’t know why I like him. It makes no sense. We barely ever see each other.”

“Are you forgetting when you guys were literally bonded with the Alliance rune?” Izzy asked. 

“I didn’t really think about it. With everything that was happening with Clary, I didn’t have time to think about it.” Jace suddenly sat up. “Wait fuck. The meeting is tomorrow. Meliorn is going to be there.  _ And Kaelie _ .”

“Maybe stop fucking around with Seelies,” Simon muttered. 

Izzy flicked Simon. “Don’t worry you have a mission tomorrow. Alec asked for you to be put on a mission because they’ll be discussing some...sensitive stuff.”

“Wait, I don’t even get to be there? Does Alec think I’m that fragile?”

Simon pulled his mouth tight. “Well Raph’s not letting me stay for the whole thing for the same reason. And if you’re anxious about Meliorn maybe it’s good. I’ll come with you for your mission.”

Jace sighed heavily. “Sure. I’ll leave you guys alone now. 

As he left Izzy’s office, he still felt nervous. He didn’t know why he liked Meliorn. With everything going on with Clary, while they were linked with the Alliance rune, he barely had time to think about it. But they had gone on a few quests and missions (Jace couldn’t resist the urge to tell the truth then). And after a while, the runes faded and they moved into a new era of the war. 

Trying to sleep usually was a pain. His body would tingle with anxiety and no amount of moving would help. But thinking of Meliorn just being there helped enough that he slowly slipped into the blissful protection of sleep. 

-

“Watch your back Simon!” Jace shouted. 

He rolled his eyes. “Not a fledgling anymore.”

Jace sliced through a demon, watching it crumble. “Really? Can’t tell.”

“Honestly,” Simon tossed another demon aside like a mere annoyance, “I’m surprised you know anything about vampires. Surprised you can fit it into your lil’ blond brain.”

“And yet here we are. A pile of demons at my feet and...I think I counted two for you.” He motioned at the floor, which of course didn’t have any demons anyway.

“Ha!” Simon exclaimed. “Learn to count better.” 

As Jace killed a demon with a clean swipe, Simon locked on the last demon, a small one, and smiled. “Hey Jace, catch.” He lunged for it and tossed it into the air. 

With a quick spin, Jace caught sight of the demon and smirked confidently. He slashed through it mid-fall with a satisfied grin. “Nice one. I think there’re a few more outside. Mundies everywhere.”

Simon feigned surprise. “ _ I’m _ getting a compliment from  _ Jace _ ? I must have demon venom in my system. Absolutely not.”

Jace punched the vampire. “If Raphael hears I let you get demon venom in you, I’m a dead man.”

“If he hears you punched me, you’re also dead,” Simon said fondly.

He’d always loved watching his friends talk about their significant others. Jace found the phenomenon of liking and loving so strange. What was the point? It was a vulnerability, was it not? You trusted someone so much with all your secrets, all your weaknesses. They held the key to you. And yet everyone around him was looking for love, searching for it and fighting for it with every fibre of their being. He’d never taken any time to think about it. Valentine never let him forget that “to love was to destroy.” “How’re you and Raphael anyway? How’s he with all this stuff going on?”

Simon smiled up into the air. “Good. None of you are ever going to stop babying me, especially Raph. Do you know how hard I had to debate with him to let me come today? I love him though. He’s a hardass but I love him anyway.”

“You seem to love everyone,” Jace couldn’t help but say. 

“It’s a mundie thing.”

It was always so interesting how mundanes cared for each other without any knowledge of the Hell around them. 

“Looking back at it, I had a crush on him for a while. But dying and coming back from the dead does tend to take your mind off of everything else,” Simon chuckled. 

“Crush?” Jace had heard this term many times. From Izzy mostly but all around sometimes. It never really held meaning to him though. 

Simon looked at him with a confused look. “Oh yeah. Raph doesn’t really show a ton of emotion (I’m working on it), so I was always trying to make him laugh, make him smile, rambling as I always do though. I was always excited to see him and nervous around him all the time. I didn’t really think about it for a long while though. I was always so worried about everything else.”

They walked silently to find the next bunch of demons and continued their mission.

\- 

By the time they got back to the Institute, the meeting wasn’t done and, by Izzy’s texts, they were busy getting work done in the meeting room anyway. 

“What do you want to do? They’re not supposed to finish for another half hour or so,” Simon said.

Jace finished typing the remainder of the report into the database. “Train?”

“God, do you never  _ not _ do stuff?” Simon asked incredulously. He always found it comical that Jace and the rest of the Shadowhunters wore their gear and he stayed in his T-shirts and flannels.

The blond snorted. “If I’m not doing, I’ll be thinking. Can’t have that now can we?”

Simon stretched from where he was sitting and sighed. “Lemme get some blood from Izzy’s and I’ll meet you.”

When they walked into the training room together, their steps echoed off of the floor. 

Jace was trying his very hardest to not think of everyone in the room just a few halls over. “Let’s see if you’ve really gotten better,” he proposed. “Hand to hand?”

Simon smirked. “Hell yeah.”

They dove into sparring with as much energy as they could muster after a mission. Jace always seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy when it came to fighting, and Simon was a vampire, plain and simple. It was fun. More fun than Jace had had in a while. He’d never admit it, but Simon had gotten better. He was almost challenging. 

“Come on vampire. You gotta work harder than that,” Jace said, ducking Simon and hooking an ankle around his feet. 

“Hey hey hey. No need to pull up the race stuff,” Simon chastised smugly. He wasn’t nearly as good as Jace was a flipping, be he was good enough to avoid Jace and have him stumble. 

Jace rolled his eyes. “Mundie words. You’re never going to stop being a mundie are you?”

“With the amount you seem to mention it, I don’t think I can forget it,” Simon grinned. 

They charged at each other once more, all power and grace tied into one. Sweating profusely, they eventually discarded shirts. Simon hadn’t spared this hard for a while. Raphael and him were often busy. Jace was good and he knew it, but Simon was getting there. Keeping up wasn’t as hard anymore. And if it helped keep Jace’s mind off of Meliorn, why not?

Neither of them noticed, but the meeting had gotten out and a certain Sealie was watching them. 

Izzy walked up to Meliorn. “Glad to see you here Meliorn.”

He turned to her, surprised for a moment that anyone else was even there. “Yes,” they started suspiciously. “What message are you trying to send Isabelle?”

“Nothing in particular. Just wanted to ask how you’re doing,” she shrugged. “How’s the Realm been?”

“Well, it’s been quite busy as I’m sure you understand. Preparing for meetings and war, we’ve been working hard. Kind of lonely,” Meliorn said. The Realm was often lonely when speaking of people. There were other Sealies, but many of them were so caught up in being immortal that the only life there was nature. At least vampires had their life from living among mundanes. Vampires and werewolves and warlocks had lives, Sealies didn’t really in comparison, they had other things to do. 

“Jace told me by the way.”

“Ah,” Meliorn said curtly. He watched Isabel, who was just watching her brother and Simon spar. 

“Not here to judge, but you invited him to your room, Meliorn,” she said. 

Meliorn raised an eyebrow. “And? I invited you to my room.”

“Well we knew it was just sex,” argued Izzy. “What about Jace, Meliorn?”

Meliorn chewed at his lip. “I like him, Isabel. Quite a bit. But I’m not sure why, honestly. I mean, he’s very attractive, but it’s not quite like we know each other very well.”

“Whatever you do, just...don’t break him any more than he already is,” she said. “You don’t know how much Clary’s situation tore him to pieces. Ok?”

Meliorn nodded once as she walked away. He continued to watch his favorite Shadowhunter spar. There was a new rune on Jace’s wrist. Meliorn squinted. He remembered it. It was Alliance. But that didn’t make sense, those had faded a long time ago. “See you sometime Simon!” Jace called. He jogged over to get a towel, not noticing Meliorn. 

Distracting himself from the strange reappearing runes, Meliorn took a little time to admire Jace. 

The moment Jace caught sight of Meliorn, his heart began beating twice as fast. “Meliorn.”

“Jace.” They stared at each other for a moment.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Jace sputtered. It was true. It was nice to see him again. 

“Likewise Jace.”

He tried not to meet Meliorn’s eyes, resulting in looking at anything else. Strangely, it looked like there was a rune on Meliorn’s wrist. It looked a bit like the Alliance rune, but that couldn’t be. They faded, right? 

“Wait, Meliorn. Is that the alliance rune?” he asked, the realization dawning on him. 

Meliorn looked at his own wrist, eyes wide. “Mine is back too?”

“What do you mean ‘too’?”

He gestured at Jace’s wrist. 

“How?” Jace matched Meliorn’s own surprise. 

“I have no idea.” They grabbed each other’s hands, unable to believe that the rune had reappeared. 

Noticing they were standing quite close together, holding hands essentially, they both stumbled apart nervously. 

“Meliorn?” a Sealie asked, turning her head around the corner. “Oh, hi Jace.” It was Kaelie. She took one look at Jace, who was still shirtless, and raised an eyebrow at Meliorn.

“I believe I have to go,” he said quietly. “We’ll figure it out.” Meliorn flicked his hand and a flower appeared, falling slowly into Jace’s hands. 


End file.
